A story with no challenges is boring and won’t engage your learners. When we use stories for learning, the challenges should mimic the kinds of issues learners will face in their real workplace. You don’t need an evil villain in your story, but you do need obstacles to overcome.

Scenarios for learning should include several critical elements: a protagonist or main character, that character’s goal, and the challenges that character faces. The main character’s goal is what drives the scenario. All of the action and decisions in the scenario move you closer or further from that goal.

Writing a branching scenario can be intimidating or overwhelming. I have found that it’s easiest to write the ideal path from start to finish first. I note decision points and sometimes draft bad choices along the way, but I don’t fully write anything else until I finish the ideal path.